Did KEH get this right?

J

Jaans

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I just checked their website for Leica MP's and they have three listed.

One is listed as 'Leica MP black' and the other two are 'Leica MP black enamel'. I was to believe that all black MP's are black paint, not enamel like the standard classics and TTL's.

I was considering ordering and just wanted to get some members thoughts on this for clarification purposes. According to Steve's camera quest the tops and bottoms are brass base.

Is this a typo on KEH's part?

Thankyou.
 
Hi Jaans,
Leica do make black MPs and black paint MPs.
The black version is the same finish as the "standard" M7.

Regards
 
The M6 (and most Leicas) are black chrome, not enamel. I know some MP's are black enamel, maybe the other ones advertised are black chrome?
 
What's black chrome? This has always puzzled me because Chrome is a metal that is silvery colored, like most metals. I've never heard of black chrome in any context except for the finish on Leicas.
 
Chris, the process is just like the one you usually use to chrome stuff, but the ingredients are a little difference.

Chromic acid 33 oz (936 g)
Acetic acid = 28.2 oz (800 g)
Barium acetate =1.0 oz (28 g)
Distilled (or demineralized) water to make 1 gal. (3.79 litre).

Happy plating! ;)

<Don't Try This In Your Darkroom>
 
From what I have read the Leica M5 was the first black chrome camera. Who remembers what the second black chrome camera was? Hint: It was a rangefinder.
 
I thought CL was black painted, not glossy enamel but matte.

Looks like they had a small run of M4 KE-7 in black chrome in the middle of 1971 so this is right after debut of M5. (according to s/n list by cameraquest)
 
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From what I remember at the time and as confirmed by Google, the second black chrome camera was the Kodak Black Pocket Instamatic 60 (a rangefinder). I have one I got at a pawn shop. The price stickers on it showed it had been marked down three or four times. Seems I paid about $5 or $6. That was years ago.
 
Very interesting about black chrome. But to get back to the OP's question, black enamel and black paint are essentially different words for the same thing. Leica has been using the term "black paint" these days, but it's entirely possible some one at KEH entered the term "black enamel" thinking of a black paint camera. The modern black Leica MP's were all black paint until the a la carte program started offering black chrome as an option, so it's a safe bet that the cameras in KEH's inventory are black paint. Of course they could have a black chrome MP, but it would be pretty unlikely as it would have to have been a custom ordered a la carte camera.

The black chrome other posters are talking about was standard on all black Leicas from the M4-P until they brought back black paint (or enamel, which is technically a painted finish which is cured in an oven) with some special edition M6TTL's and then the MP.
 
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Thanks to everyone who contributed to this discussion. It was actually more complicated than I intially reasoned.

Also, drewbarb thanks for that succint answer, it makes a lot more sense now with black paint and enamel meaning one and the same thing.

I thought that I was going slowly nuts when I read KEH's description as there was just another part of the weird and wonderful world of Leica that I was ignorant about.

But I got it - all standard modern black MP's will give me a nice brassing if I fondle them right!

Cheers
 
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